Heartbreaking Adoption Scam: Couple Fooled by Woman's Elaborate Lies

By TS Lustgarten , Parent Herald May 26, 08:50 pm

An American couple, Bella and Dallin Lambert, recently revealed their harrowing experience of falling victim to an adoption scam. The couple, known for their YouTube channel Della Vlogs with over 1.4 million subscribers, posted a video titled "Our Adoption Was a Scam" on May 24, which quickly garnered 1.6 million views.

After struggling with infertility for five years and exhausting various options, Bella and Dallin decided that adoption was the best path to realize their dreams of parenthood. According to Your Tango, they connected with a woman who claimed to be a 20-year-old university student from California, expecting to give birth to identical twin girls. The prospect of adopting twins excited the couple, although they were aware that twin adoptions are rare and often associated with scams.

Couple Falls for the Woman's Deceptive Charade

The couple engaged in conversations with the woman, who seemed perfect in their interactions. Bella and Dallin admit that they had fleeting doubts about the situation being too good to be true, but they were enamored by the profound and loving messages the woman sent them. Bella and Dallin flew from Arizona to southern California to meet her in person because of her apparent sincerity.

During their meeting, the woman expressed her belief that Bella and Dallin would make perfect parents and tearfully described them as a miracle. She encouraged them to prepare a nursery, claiming it would make her feel more comfortable. Looking back, Bella describes this as a cruel act, as the couple now has an empty, tainted nursery they can't bear to enter. The woman also requested that they do a gender reveal, wanting to experience the joyous milestones of pregnancy. Bella and Dallin, excited to celebrate after years of waiting, obliged, unaware of the deceit that lay ahead.

In another twist, the woman proposed that Bella and Dallin attend birthing classes with her and be present in the hospital room during the birth. Eager to support her and make the experience special, the couple engaged a birth coach and attended private classes for nine weeks. The woman even spoke to the couple's adoption agency over the phone, adding further credibility to her story. However, any in-person meeting was continuously postponed, with the woman providing convincing excuses each time. Bella and Dallin now realize that they were manipulated by the woman's elaborate and thought-out tales, which included claims of non-consensual pregnancy, trauma, and PTSD.

Other Couples Come Forward with Similar Tales of Deception

When they saw an email from another couple who had encountered the same woman, they became aware of the situation. This couple had been deceived in the same manner, being asked to set up a nursery and participate in a gender reveal. Bella also received a direct message on Instagram from the same individual, confirming the seriousness of the situation. Determined to uncover the truth, Bella and Dallin shared a photo of the woman on a Facebook page dedicated to ending adoption scams. Shockingly, multiple other families came forward, claiming to have had contact with the woman.

Upon comparing photos and stories, Bella and Dallin discovered inconsistencies that exposed the woman's deception. According to The Chronicle, she had sent them a cropped photo of herself at 26 weeks pregnant, only to send the same uncropped photo to another couple, revealing a completely flat stomach. Confronting her over the phone, the couple realized the extent of the scam. The woman tried to pass off the inconsistencies as an old photo, even though she was wearing a gift the Lamberts had given her just a week earlier.

Thankfully, no monetary exchange occurred between Bella, Dallin, and the woman, adding to the confusion surrounding her true intentions. According to Kidspot, Bella expressed her feelings of disgust and shared the emotional toll this scam has taken on their lives. She acknowledged the support they have received from kind-hearted individuals while grieving over the loss of their adoption dream.

Lambert's story serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of adoption scams and the vulnerability of hopeful parents. Their experience sheds light on the need for increased awareness and caution in the adoption process. By sharing their heartbreaking ordeal, Bella and Dallin Lambert hope to prevent others from falling victim to such manipulative schemes and advocate for stricter safeguards to protect prospective adoptive parents.